Knitting-machine.



F. wucoms. KNITTING MACHINE; APPLICATXON FILED 1ULY l 1915. RENEWED JUNE !6 1917- Patented Oct. 23, 1917.

, hveiztorx Fcank Wilcomfi TTT llllllllll lllll 60-, OF NQBRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA,

KNITTING-MACH NE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

A oonronA'rroN or PENNSYLVANIA.

application filed July 1, 1916, Serial No. 107,109. Renewed June 16, 1917. Serial No. 175,211.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK WILCOMB, a

citizen of the United States, and resident of Norristown, Pa., have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in Knittingfication.

Theinvention relates to yarn supporting means for spring beard needle knitting machines, for holding the newly fed strand of'ya'rn at the proper elevation above the old fabric loops to provide ample space for pressing the needle beards or for other purposes. In carrying out the invention the said yarn supporting means may be used with means additional thereto .for effecting the pressing of the needle beards but I prefer. to utilize said means to perform not only its yarn supporting function but also the function of pressing the needle beards in connection with another instrumentality.

The invention consists in the features and combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings;-

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a part of a knitting machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic View of needles, web holders, and yarn supporting and beard pressing means, showing also the manner in which the yarn'is fed and illustrating the needle wave at the yarn feeding and needle beard pressing points, the parts being viewed from'outside or the front of the needle row. I n

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the. yarn supporting and beard pressing instrument.

In these drawings, 1 is the needle bed or carrier, which may be of cylindrical formor of other forms. 2 are the web holders, which are representative of any suitable Machines, of which the following is a speciform, either pivoted or sliding and 3 is the r invention is applicable to spring beardknits supporting device for the newly fed strand of yarn, this consisting ofa rotary member or-wheel suitably supported on the inner side of-the needle row or in other words 1 at the back of the needles, said wheehhavin'g teeth "to enter between the needles and project on the front side thereof, suliiciently far to afford a supportfor the new yarn,

indicated at a, which is 1nd against the stem of the needles, as in direct fed machines.

Patented Oct. 23, 191 '7.

This wheel presents a supporting ledge for the new yarn above. the upper surface of the web holders and notwithstanding the fact that a low web holder may be used the yarn can be supported at the desired dis-' tance above the old fabric loops to give ample space for pressing the needle beards. The wheel rotates on its axis by reason of the engagement of its teeth with the needle stems, it being understood that the wheel and needle row have relative traveling movement. In the present instance, we will assume that the needle row is fixed and that the Wheel travels in unison with the needle cams and yarn delivery, Fig. 2, along the needle r0 While a wheel, such as that just mentioned, can be used to function only as a yarn support I prefer to employ said wheel as a means for pressing the-needle beards and for performing other functions as will appear hereinafter. For pressing, the bottoms of the spaces between the teeth of the wheel by contacting with the backs of the needle, force them outwardly from their normal plane of reciprocation so that as the deflected needle descends its beard will contact with the exterior presser member 5. This presser member may be of various forms but in the particular construction shown, it consists of a cylindrical member, the inner surface of which serves by contact therewith, to close the needle beard to pass through the old loop. This toothed whee besides supporting the new yarn separated from the old loops for pressing and besides causing the pressing of the needle beards serves other purposes in that it corrects any irregularities in-thespacing of the. needles, straighten-s up laterally bent needles and holds the needles alined in respect to the needle row. I

It will be seen from the above that the ting machines having independently operated needles, which are fed-direct without the medium of sinker instruments.

In machines having sinkers the yarn after I being fed to the needles is-supported by the sinker instrument while the heard is being pressed between theanew-yarn and the fabric loop. Ininachines that are direct fed, that is without sinkers the yarn is supported in some cases upon the web holders and thereby kept separated from the old fabne loops for the pressing action. In other direct fed machines there is no provisionmade for supporting the new yarn or separating it from the old fabric loop during the pressing operation and the divisional space is provided in an indefinite way by feeding the yarn to the needles at a steep angle in respect to the cylinder verge. This is objectionable, as is well understood by spring needle knitters.

Supporting the new fed yarn on the upper surface of the web holder while being useful and an advance in the art over inachines not having this feature does not meet all the requirements and is open to some objections.

A web holder having a supporting surface for the new yarn provides a definite divisional space between the new yarn and old loop for pressing but this space is so narrow that when the needle heard is pressed the rapidly moving new fed yarn which is rendering from needle to needle has too narrow a space in which to move freely. If on the other hand the yarn supporting surface of the web' holders were made high enough to provide a sufliciently high location of the new yarn in the needle beard to avoid being pinched or chafed as the needle heard is closed by the presser, the presser wheel or plate operating against the stem of the needle would be too high on the needle head to be properly effective or operative.

It is desirable to have the presser as near to the beard end as possible during the (losing of the beard and diring the travel of the beard through the old loop. By the use of the wheel as a yarn support I can employ a web holder having very limitedspace between its webholder throat and'its top surface. This enables me to locate the presser wheel very low with relation to the beard at the pressing point and yet support the,

yarn at a proper height above the fabric loops. The yarn supporting surface of my presser wheel serves to hold the yarn more widely separated from the fabric loops than would be possible by utilizing the upper surface of a web holder as a yarn support. Another result of the use of this yarn supporting wheel is that the thread carrier may deliver the yarn against the stems of the needles, low down with reference to needle beard points and the plane of the cylinder verge. The wheel acts as a shelf to hold the yarn in a predetermined plane secure against deflection from any cause and permits travel of-the yarn through the needle beards with the least amount of friction or retarding influence.

naeegevo This invention being designed for direct fed machines, where the yarn travels from needle to needle during the loop formation is applicable to machines having independently operated needles and the results obtained, so far as divisional space is con cerned is precisely that of sinker fed machines in which there is no travel of the yarn from needle to needle through the needle beards. The measuring action on a sinker machine is performed wholly by the sinker and there is no rendering or travel of the yarn through the needle beards, as in direct fed spring needle machines or in latch needle machines. As before pointed out, the invention in one respect comprises a combination presser wheel and yarn supporting means. The teeth of the wheel perform the yarn supporting function, while the spaces between the teeth receive the needle stems and the bottom Walls of the spaces force the needles against the fixed outside presser. The wheel having yarn supporting teeth maybe used on machines having other forms of pressers, in which case the bottoms of the spaces between the teeth do not perform any pressing function, and the wheel would be used in this instance as a yarn supporting device, or additionally it will serve to properly space and aline the needles, assisting in the feeding', operations.

The wheel when used as a combination yarn support and presser should be set with relation to the needles, so as to support the yarn at the pressing point but if used in connection with independently operated presser bits or a wheel outside the needle circle it should be set to support the yarn slightly in advance or at the point where the needle beards seize the yarn, the wheel acting to support the yarn from deflection from any cause. I

This wheel is equally as effective on machines having reciprocatory movement or straight bar machines having back and forth motion, as in machines that run in one direction only, as illustrated in this case.

This yarn supporting wheel is particularly suited to machines for making heel and toe pockets'in which it is desirable to support the selvage or gore loops in a very high position in order to make so called seamless heels or gores, asit supports the yarn 011 the gore needle and bars the web holder of the inoperative needle from seizing-and trapping the yarn, all of which is readily understood by those skilled in the art.

Certain features disclosed herein but not claimed have been made the subject .of anotherapplication or applications.

What 3 claim is 1. in eoi'iunnationw independently operated nae-1,2?!)

spring beard needles,"means for. feeding yarn directly against the needle stems-below their beards, a yarn supporting wheel having teeth projecting between the needles,

Isaid teeth receiving and holding the ,yarn' on, their upper surfaces to providespace be tween the new yarnand the old'loops. for

pressing, and'means to engage and press the needle beards, substantially as described. v

2. In combination independently operated spring beardneedles, means .for feeding the yarn directly. against the needle stems below their beards, ,a' wheel, atthe'backof the needles having teeth projecting between the. needles to -.the front vthe'regif and'receiving teeth projecting betweentheneedles to the front thereof and-receiving and supporting the newly fed yarn to provide space between said new .yarn and the old loopsfor pressing, and means to engage and press the needle beards, substantially as described.

4. In combination independently operated spring beard needles, web holders, a yarn feed, a wheel arranged in a plane above the web holders, having teeth projecting between the needles, said teeth supporting thenew yarn above the old fabric loops for provldlng space in which the needle beards are pressed, and means to engage and press the needle beards, substantially as described.

5. .In combination independently operated spring-beard needles, a yarn feed, a presser wheel at the back of the needle row and. 'a' presser device against which the beards of the needlesare pressed, said presser wheel having teeth to straighten bent needles, the bottoms of the spaces between the teeth engaging'the-needlebacks and deflecting said needles forward'to press their beards against said; presser device, substantially as described.

6. In combination independently operated spring beard needles, a yarn feed, and a presser wheel operating upon :the backs of the needles to deflect them outwardly from their normal plane of operation, a presser device. against which the beards of the" deflected needles are pressed, said presser wheel having teeth projecting between the. needles and supporting thereon the newyarn above the. old fabric loops, substantially as described.

'7. In combinationindependently operatedspring beard needles, web holders, and a presser wheel operating against the back:

of the needles to deflect them from their normal plane, said presser wheel having teeth extending between the needles and lying in a plane above the web holders, and supporting the new yarn spaced'apartfrom the old fabric loops held by said web holders and presser means against which the beards of the deflected needles are forced and,

pressed, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof,I aflix my signature- FRANK WILCOMB. 

